Tracking Device Functionality Restriction in a Lost Context

ABSTRACT

One or more features of a tracking device can be disabled if the tracking device is lost. A tracking device is associated with a first mobile device, which can remotely control the tracking device via a tracking server. The tracking server receives an instruction from the first mobile device to disable a feature of the tracking device. The tracking server also receives a notification from a second mobile device that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device. In response to receiving the instruction and the notification, the tracking server transmits the instruction for the tracking device to disable the feature to the second mobile device. The tracking device receives the instruction to disable the feature from the second mobile device. In response to receiving the instruction to disable the feature, the tracking device disables the feature according to the instruction.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/515,523, filed Jul. 18, 2019, now patent Ser. No.______, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/862,491, filed Jan. 4,2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,405,144, all of which are incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to tracking devices, and morespecifically, to restricting the functionality of a tracking device or adevice connected to the tracking device when the tracking device islost.

Electronic tracking devices have created numerous ways for people totrack the locations of people and/or objects. For example, a user canuse GPS technology to track a device remotely or determine a location ofthe user. In another example, a user can attach a tracking device to animportant object, such as keys or a wallet, and use the features of thetracking device to more quickly locate the object, (e.g., if it becomeslost). If the object is lost, the object will still be able to function;for example, if a user loses a set of headphones or another type ofelectronic device, a person who comes across the lost headphones orsteals the headphones could use them. If the object were disabled, thismay help discourage theft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tracking system environment in which atracking device can operate, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example tracking system for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user mobile device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example community mobile device for use in atracking system environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example tracking device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an environment for disabling a feature of a trackingdevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an interaction diagram illustrating a process for disabling afeature of a tracking device based on an instruction from a mobiledevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an interaction diagram illustrating a process for disabling afeature of a tracking device based on instructions stored on thetracking device, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a process for disabling a feature ofa tracking device, according to one embodiment,

The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention forpurposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Environment Overview

Embodiments described herein detail functionality associated with atracking device. A user can attach a tracking device to or enclose thetracking device within an object, such as a wallet, keys, a car, a bike,a pet, or any other object that the user wants to track. Or, a trackingdevice can be a device with a primary purpose unrelated to trackingfunctionality (e.g., a set of headphones, an electronic key, a wirelessspeaker, a fitness tracker, a camera) that has an integrated trackingcomponent that allows the device to be tracked. The user can then use amobile device (e.g., by way of a software application installed on themobile device) or other device or service to track the tracking device.For example, the mobile device can perform a local search for a trackingdevice. However, in situations where the user is unable to locate thetracking device using their own mobile device (e.g., if the trackingdevice is beyond a distance within which the mobile device and thetracking device can communicate), the user can leverage the capabilitiesof a community of users of a tracking device system. In such situations,the user may designate the tracking device as “lost” and request thatsome functionality of the tracking device be disabled. For example, ifthe tracking device has a tracking component and a different primarydevice function (e.g., playing sound if the tracking device is awireless speaker), the primary device function can be disabled to renderthe tracking device unusable to a potential thief. While this primaryfunction is disabled, the tracking component can remain enabled,allowing the user to locate the lost tracking device. As anotherexample, if the tracking device is attached to another object, the usercan disable the tracking device to prevent a potential thief from takingthe tracking device and repurposing it (e.g., to track an object ownedby the thief, or to sell to another potential user interested intracking an object).

A tracking system (also referred to herein as a “cloud server,”“tracking server,” or simply “server”) can maintain user profilesassociated with a plurality of users of the tracking system. Thetracking system can associate each user within the system with one ormore tracking devices associated the user (e.g., tracking devices thatthe user has purchased and is using to track objects owned by the user,or devices that include a tracking component and have additionalnon-tracking features). If the user's tracking device, or the object towhich the tracking device is attached, becomes lost or stolen, the usercan send an indication that the tracking device is lost to the trackingsystem, which is in communication with one or more mobile devicesassociated with the community of users in communication with the system.The tracking system can set a flag indicating the tracking device islost. When one of a community of mobile devices that are scanning fornearby tracking devices and providing updated locations to the trackingsystem identifies a flagged tracking device, the tracking system canassociate the received location with the flagged tracking device, andrelay the location to a user of the tracking device, thereby enablingthe user to locate the lost tracking device. In addition, the trackingsystem can transmit an instruction to the community mobile device toforward to the tracking device that will cause the tracking device todisable one or more features. This will limit the usefulness of thetracking device to another person if the tracking device has been stolenor is at risk of being stolen. As used herein, “mobile device” can referto a phone, tablet computer, or other connected device, and can alsorefer to systems typically not consider mobile, such as servers,routers, gateways, access points, and specialized systems configured tocouple to tracking devices and report a location of the trackingdevices.

As used herein, “tracking device” can refer to any device configured tocommunicate with another device for the purpose of locating the trackingdevice. Tracking devices can be specialized or single-purpose devices(e.g., self-contained devices that include circuitry or components tocommunicate with another device). However, “tracking device” as usedherein can also refer to device or object with a different primaryfunction but with secondary tracking device functionality. For example,a wireless speaker can include tracking device components that allow auser to track and/or locate the wireless speaker. In some embodiments, atracking device platform can be established such that devices andobjects that satisfy one or more criteria can act as tracking deviceswithin a tracking device ecosystem. For instance, a tracking deviceprovider can provide an SDK or custom chipset that, when incorporatedinto an object or device, enable the object or device to function astracking devices, to communicate with other devices within the trackingdevice ecosystem, and to implement the functionalities described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tracking system environment in which atracking device can operate, according to one embodiment. Theenvironment of FIG. 1 includes a tracking system 100 communicativelycoupled to a mobile device 102 associated with the user 103 via a firstnetwork 108. The tracking system 100 is also communicatively coupled toa plurality of community mobile devices 104 a through 104 n(collectively referred to herein as “community mobile devices 104”)associated with a plurality of users 105 a through 105 n of the trackingsystem 100 (collectively referred to herein as “community users 105”)via the first network 108. As will be explained in more detail below,the tracking system 100 can allow the user 103 to manage and/or locate atracking device 106 associated with the user 103. In some embodiments,the tracking system 100 leverages the capabilities of community mobiledevices 104 to locate the tracking device 106 if the location of thetracking device is unknown to the user 103 and beyond the capabilitiesof mobile device 102 to track. In some configurations, the user 103 mayown and register multiple tracking devices 106. Although FIG. 1illustrates a particular arrangement of the tracking system 100, mobiledevice 102, community mobile devices 104, and tracking device 106,various additional arrangements are possible.

In some configurations, the user 103 may be part of the community ofusers 105. Further, one or more users 105 may own and register one ormore tracking devices 106. Thus, any one of the users within thecommunity of users 105 can communicate with tracking system 100 andleverage the capabilities of the community of users 105 in addition tothe user 103 to locate a tracking device 106 that has been lost.

The tracking system 100, mobile device 102, and plurality of communitymobile devices 104 may communicate using any communication platforms andtechnologies suitable for transporting data and/or communicationsignals, including known communication technologies, devices, media, andprotocols supportive of remote data communications.

In certain embodiments, the tracking system 100, mobile device 102, andcommunity mobile devices 104 may communicate via a first network 108,which may include one or more networks, including, but not limited to,wireless networks (e.g., wireless communication networks), mobiletelephone networks (e.g., cellular telephone networks), closedcommunication networks, open communication networks, satellite networks,navigation networks, broadband networks, narrowband networks, theInternet, local area networks, and any other networks capable ofcarrying data and/or communications signals between the tracking system100, mobile device 102, and community mobile devices 104. The mobiledevice 102 and community of mobile devices 104 may also be incommunication with a tracking device 106 via a second network 110. Thesecond network 110 may be a similar or different type of network as thefirst network 108. In some embodiments, the second network 110 comprisesa wireless network with a limited communication range, such as aBluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless network. In someconfigurations, the second network 110 is a point-to-point networkincluding the tracking device 106 and one or more mobile devices thatfall within a proximity of the tracking device 106. In such embodiments,the mobile device 102 and community mobile devices 104 may only be ableto communicate with the tracking device 106 if they are within a closeproximity to the tracking device, though in other embodiments, thetracking device can use long-distance communication functionality (forinstance, a GSM transceiver) to communicate with either a mobile device102/104 or the tracking system 100 at any distance. In someconfigurations, the mobile device 102 and one or more community mobiledevices 104 may each be associated with multiple tracking devicesassociated with various users.

As mentioned above, FIG. 1 illustrates the mobile device 102 associatedwith the user 103. The mobile device 102 can be configured to performone or more functions described herein with respect to locating trackingdevices (e.g., tracking device 106). For example, the mobile device 102can receive input from the user 103 representative of information aboutthe user 103 and information about a tracking device 106. The mobiledevice 102 may then provide the received user information, trackingdevice information, and/or information about the mobile device 102 tothe tracking system 100. Accordingly, the tracking system 100 is able toassociate the mobile device 102, the user 103, and/or the trackingdevice 106 with one another. In some embodiments, the mobile device 102can communicate with the tracking device 106 and provide informationregarding the location of the tracking device to the user 103. Forexample, the mobile device 102 can detect a communication signal fromthe tracking device 106 (e.g., by way of second network 110) as well asa strength of the communication signal or other measure of proximity todetermine an approximate distance between the mobile device 102 and thetracking device 106. The mobile device 102 can then provide thisinformation to the user 103 (e.g., by way of one or more graphical userinterfaces) to assist the user 103 to locate the tracking device 106.Accordingly, the user 103 can use the mobile device 102 to track andlocate the tracking device 106 and a corresponding object associatedwith the tracking device 106. If the mobile device 102 is located beyondthe immediate range of communication with the tracking device 106 (e.g.,beyond the second network 110), the mobile device 102 can be configuredto send an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost to the trackingsystem 100, requesting assistance in finding the tracking device. Themobile device 102 can send an indication of a lost device in response toa command from the user 103. For example, once the user 103 hasdetermined that the tracking device 106 is lost, the user can provideuser input to the mobile device 102 (e.g., by way of a graphical userinterface), requesting that the mobile device 102 send an indicationthat the tracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system 100. In someexamples, the lost indication can include information identifying theuser 103 (e.g., name, username, authentication information), informationassociated with the mobile device 102 (e.g., a mobile phone number),information associated with the tracking device (e.g., a unique trackingdevice identifier), or a location of the user (e.g., a GPS location ofthe mobile device 102 at the time the request is sent). In someembodiments, the lost indication can include an instruction to disable afeature of the tracking device, as described in detail with respect toFIGS. 6-9.

The tracking system 100 can be configured to provide a number offeatures and services associated with the tracking and management of aplurality of tracking devices and/or users associated with the trackingdevices. For example, the tracking system 100 can manage informationand/or user profiles associated with user 103 and community users 105.In particular, the tracking system 100 can manage information associatedwith the tracking device 106 and/or other tracking devices associatedwith the user 103 and/or the community users 105.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can receive an indicationthat the tracking device 106 is lost from the mobile device 102. Thetracking system 100 can then process the indication in order to help theuser 103 find the tracking device 106. For example, the tracking system100 can leverage the capabilities of the community mobile devices 104 tohelp find the tracking device 106. In particular, the tracking system100 may set a flag for a tracking device 106 to indicate that thetracking device 106 lost and monitor communications received from thecommunity mobile devices 104 indicating the location of one or moretracking devices 106 within proximity of the community mobile devices104. The tracking system 100 can determine whether a specific locationis associated with the lost tracking device 106 and provide any locationupdates associated with the tracking device 106 to the mobile device102. In one example, the tracking system may receive constant updates oftracking device 106 locations regardless of whether a tracking device106 is lost and provide a most recent updated location of the trackingdevice 106 in response to receiving an indication that the trackingdevice 106 is lost.

In some configurations, the tracking system 100 can send a locationrequest associated with the tracking device 106 to each of the communitymobile devices 104. The location request can include any instructionsand/or information necessary for the community mobile devices 106 tofind the tracking device 102. For example, the location request caninclude a unique identifier associated with the tracking device 106 thatcan be used by the community mobile devices 104 to identify the trackingdevice 106. Accordingly, if one of the community mobile devices 104detects a communication from the tracking device 106 (e.g., if thecommunity mobile device 104 is within range or moves within range of thecommunication capabilities of the tracking device 106 and receives asignal from the tracking device 106 including or associated with theunique identifier associated with the tracking device 106), thecommunity mobile device 104 can inform the tracking system 100. Usingthe information received from the community mobile devices 104, thetracking system 100 can inform the user (e.g., by way of the mobiledevice 102) of a potential location of the tracking device 106.

As shown in FIG. 1 and as mentioned above, the tracking system 100 cancommunicate with a plurality of community mobile devices 104 associatedwith corresponding community users 105. For example, an implementationmay include a first community mobile device 104 a associated with afirst community user 105 a, a second community mobile device 104 bassociated with a second community user 105 b, and additionalcommunication mobile devices associated with additional community usersup to an nth community mobile device 104 n associated with an nthcommunity user 105 n. The community mobile devices 104 may also includefunctionality that enables each community mobile device 104 to identifya tracking device 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device104. In one example, a first community mobile device 104 a withinproximity of a tracking device 106 can communicate with the trackingdevice 106, identify the tracking device 106 (e.g., using a uniqueidentifier associated with the tracking device 106), and/or detect alocation associated with the tracking device 106 (e.g., a location ofthe first mobile community device 104 a at the time of the communicationwith the tracking device 106). This information can be used to provideupdated locations and/or respond to a location request from the trackingsystem 100 regarding the tracking device 106. In some embodiments, thesteps performed by the first community mobile device 104 a can be hiddenfrom the first community user 105 a. Accordingly, the first communitymobile device 104 a can assist in locating the tracking device 106without bother and without the knowledge of the first community user 105a.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can assist a user 103 inlocating a tracking device 106. The tracking device may be a chip, tile,tag, or other device for housing circuitry and that may be attached toor enclosed within an object such as a wallet, keys, purse, car, orother object that the user 103 may track. Additionally, the trackingdevice 106 may include a speaker for emitting a sound and/or atransmitter for broadcasting a beacon. In one configuration, thetracking device 106 may periodically transmit a beacon signal that maybe detected using a nearby mobile device 102 and/or community mobiledevice 104. In some configurations, the tracking device 106 broadcasts abeacon at regular intervals (e.g., one second intervals) that may bedetected from a nearby mobile device (e.g., community mobile device104). The strength of the signal emitted from the tracking device 106may be used to determine a degree of proximity to the mobile device 102or community mobile device 104 that detects the signal. For example, ahigher strength signal would indicate a close proximity between thetracking device 106 and the mobile device 102 and a lower strengthsignal would indicate a more remote proximity between the trackingdevice 106 and the mobile device 102, though in some embodiments, thetracking device 106 can intentionally vary the transmission strength ofthe beacon signal. In some cases, the strength of signal or absence of asignal may be used to indicate that a tracking device 106 is lost.

System Overview

FIG. 2 illustrates an example tracking system for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the trackingsystem 100 may include, but is not limited to, an association manager204, a tracking device location manager 206, and a data manager 208,each of which may be in communication with one another using anysuitable communication technologies. It will be recognized that althoughmanagers 204-208 are shown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the managers204-208 may be combined into fewer managers, such as into a singlemanager, or divided into more managers as may serve a particularembodiment.

The association manager 204 may be configured to receive, transmit,obtain, and/or update information about a user 103 and/or informationabout one or more specific tracking devices (e.g., tracking device 106).In some configurations, the association manager 204 may associateinformation associated with a user 103 with information associated witha tracking device 106. For example, user information and trackinginformation may be obtained by way of a mobile device 102, and theassociation manager 204 may be used to link the user information andtracking information. The association between user 103 and trackingdevice 106 may be used for authentication purposes, or for storing userinformation, tracking device information, permissions, or otherinformation about a user 103 and/or tracking device 106 in a database.

The tracking system 100 also includes a tracking device location manager206. The tracking device location manager 206 may receive and process anindication that the tracking device 106 is lost from a mobile device(e.g., mobile device 102 or community mobile devices 104). For example,the tracking system 100 may receive a lost indication from a mobiledevice 102 indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. The trackingdevice location manager 206 may set a flag on a database (e.g., trackerdatabase 212) indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. Thetracking device location manager 206 may also query a database todetermine tracking information corresponding to the associated user 103and/or tracking device 106. The tracking system 100 may obtain trackingdevice information and provide the tracking device information or otherinformation associated with the tracking device 106 to a plurality ofcommunity mobile devices 104 to be on alert for the lost or unavailabletracking device 106.

The tracking device location manager 206 may also receive a locationfrom one or more community mobile devices 104 that detect the trackingdevice 106, for instance in response to the community mobile devicereceiving a beacon signal transmitted by the tracking device 106,without the tracking device 106 having been previously marked as lost.In such embodiments, a user corresponding to the mobile device 102 canrequest a most recent location associated with the tracking device fromthe tracking system 100, and the location manager 206 can provide thelocation received from the community mobile device for display by themobile device 102. In some embodiments, the location manager 206provides the location of the tracking device 106 received from acommunity mobile device either automatically (for instance if thetracking device 106 is marked as lost) or at the request of a user ofthe mobile device 102 (for instance, via an application on the mobiledevice 102). The location manager 206 can provide a location of atracking device 106 to a mobile device 102 via a text message, pushnotification, application notification, automated voice message, or anyother suitable form of communication.

The tracking device location manager 206 may further manage providingindications about whether a tracking device 106 is lost or not lost. Forexample, as discussed above, the tracking device location manager 206may provide a location request to the community of mobile devices 104indicating that a tracking device 106 is lost. Additionally, uponlocation of the tracking device 106 by the user 103 or by one of thecommunity of users 105, the tracking device location manager 206 mayprovide an indication to the user 103, community user 105, or trackingsystem 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found, thus removingany flags associated with a tracking device and/or canceling anylocation request previously provided to the community of users 105. Forexample, where a user 103 sends an indication that the tracking device106 is lost to the tracking system 100 and later finds the trackingdevice 106, the mobile device 102 may provide an indication to thetracking system 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found. Inresponse, the tracking device location manager 206 may remove a flagindicating that the tracking device 106 is lost and/or provide anupdated indication to the community of users 105 that the trackingdevice 106 has been found, thus canceling any instructions associatedwith the previously provided location request. In some configurations,the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may beprovided automatically upon the mobile device 102 detecting the trackingdevice 106 within a proximity of the mobile device 102. Alternatively,the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may beprovided by the user 103 via user input on the mobile device 102. Inanother example, a known user (e.g., a friend or family member) withwhom the tracking device 106 has been shared may provide an indicationthat the tracking device 106 has been found.

In some embodiments, the tracking device location manager 206 alsoreceives and processes instructions to disable one or more features of atracking device 106. A lost indication from a mobile device 102indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost may be accompanied by aninstruction to disable one or more features of the tracking device 106.The feature(s) to disable may be included in the instruction, or thetracking system 100 or tracking device 106 may store informationindicating which feature(s) to disable in response to a disableinstruction. In other embodiments, when the tracking device locationmanager 206 receives a lost indication for a tracking device, thetracking device location manager 206 looks up instructions associatedwith the tracking device 106, e.g., in the data manger 208, and forwardsappropriate instructions for disabling a feature of the tracking device106. Disabling features of lost tracking devices is described furtherwith reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.

The tracking system 100 additionally includes a data manager 208. Thedata manager 208 may store and manage information associated with users,mobile devices, tracking devices, permissions, location requests, andother data that may be stored and/or maintained in a database related toperforming location services of tracking devices. As shown, the datamanager 208 may include, but is not limited to, a user database 210, atracker database 212, permissions data 214, and location request data216. It will be recognized that although databases and data within thedata manager 208 are shown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the userdatabase 210, tracker database 212, permissions data 214, and locationrequest data 216 may be combined in a single database or manager, ordivided into more databases or managers as may serve a particularembodiment.

The data manager 208 may include the user database 210. The userdatabase 210 may be used to store data related to various users. Forexample, the user database 210 may include data about the user 103 aswell as data about each user 105 in a community of users 105. Thecommunity of users 105 may include any user that has provided userinformation to the tracking system 100 via a mobile device 102, 104 orother electronic device. The user information may be associated with oneor more respective tracking devices 106, or may be stored without anassociation to a particular tracking device. For example, a communityuser 105 may provide user information and permit performance of trackingfunctions on the community mobile device 104 without owning or beingassociated with a tracking device 106. The user database 210 may alsoinclude information about one or more mobile devices or other electronicdevices associated with a particular user.

The data manager 208 may also include a tracker database 212. Thetracker database 212 may be used to store data related to trackingdevices. For example, the tracker database 212 may include tracking datafor any tracking device 106 that has been registered with the trackingsystem 100. Tracking data may include unique tracker identifications(IDs) associated with individual tracking devices 106. Tracker IDs maybe associated with a respective user 103. Tracker IDs may also beassociated with multiple users. Additionally, the tracker database 212may include any flags or other indications associated with whether aspecific tracking device 106 has been indicated as lost and whether anyincoming communications with regard to that tracking device 106 shouldbe processed based on the presence of a flag associated with thetracking device 106. The tracker database 212 may also include featureinformation about tracking devices 106, whether one or more features ofa tracking device 106 should be disabled when lost, and whether one ormore features of a tracking device 106 are currently disabled, or havebeen instructed to be disabled.

The data manager 208 may further include permissions data 214 andlocation request data 216. Permissions data 214 may include levels ofpermissions associated with a particular user 103 and/or tracking device106. For example, permissions data 214 may include additional users thathave been indicated as sharing a tracking device 106, or who have beengiven permission to locate or receive a location of a tracking device106. Location request data 216 may include information related to alocation request or a lost indication received from the user 103 via amobile device 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user mobile device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the mobiledevice 102 may include, but is not limited to, a user interface manager302, a location request manager 304, a database manager 306, and atracking manager 308, each of which may be in communication with oneanother using any suitable communication technologies. It will berecognized that although managers 302-308 are shown to be separate inFIG. 3, any of the managers 302-308 may be combined into fewer managers,such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as mayserve a particular embodiment.

As will be explained in more detail below, the mobile device 102includes the user interface manager 302. The user interface manager 302may facilitate providing the user 103 access to data on a trackingsystem 100 and/or providing data to the tracking system 100. Further,the user interface manager 302 provides a user interface by which theuser 103 may communicate with tracking system 100 and/or tracking device106 via mobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 may also include a location request manager 304.The location request manager 304 may receive and process a request inputto the mobile device 102 to send an indication that a tracking device106 is lost to a tracking system 100. For example, the user 103 mayprovide an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost, unreachable,or otherwise unavailable, and/or that one or more features of thetracking device 106 should be disabled, from the mobile device 102 viathe user interface manager 302, and the location request manager 304 mayprocess the lost indication and/or disabling instructions and provideany necessary data to the tracking system 100 for processing andrelaying a location request and/or disabling instruction to other users105 over a network 108. In some configurations, an indication that atracking device 106 is lost is provided via user input. Alternatively,the indication may be transmitted automatically in response to themobile device 102 determining that a tracking device 106 is lost.

In addition, the location request manager 304 can request a location ofthe tracking device 106 without the tracking device 106 being identifiedas lost. For instance, a user can access a tracking device locationfeature of an application running on the mobile device 102 (for example,via the user interface manager 302), and the location request manager304 can request a most recent location of the tracking device 106 fromthe tracking system 100. The location request manager 304 can receivethe most recent location from the tracking system 100, and can displaythe most recent location via the user interface manager 302.

The mobile device 102 may also include a database manager 306. Thedatabase manager 306 may maintain data related to the user 103, trackingdevice 106, permissions, or other data that may be used for locating atracking device 106 and/or providing a request to a tracking system 100for locating one or more tracking devices 106 associated with the user103. Further, the database manager 306 may maintain any information thatmay be accessed using any other manager on the mobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 may further include a tracking manager 308. Thetracking manager 308 may include a tracking application (e.g., asoftware application) for communicating with and locating a trackingdevice 106 associated with the user 103. For example, the trackingmanager 308 may be one configuration of a tracking application installedon the mobile device 102 that provides the functionality for locating atracking device 106 and/or requesting location of a tracking device 106using a tracking system 100 and/or a plurality of community mobiledevices 104. As shown, the tracking manager 308 may include, but is notlimited to, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) manager 310, a persistencemanager 312, a local files manager 314, a motion manager 316, a securestorage manager 318, a settings manager 320, a location manager 322, anetwork manager 324, a notification manager 326, a sound manager 328, afriends manager 330, a photo manager 332, an authentication manager 334,and a device manager 336. Thus, the tracking manager 308 may perform anyof the functions associated with managers 310-338, described inadditional detail below.

The BLE manager 310 may be used to manage communication with one or moretracking devices 106. The persistence manager 312 may be used to storelogical schema information that is relevant to the tracking manager 308.The local files manager 314 may be responsible for managing all filesthat are input or output from the mobile device 102. The motion manager316 may be responsible for all motion management required by thetracking manager 308. The secure storage manager may be responsible forstorage of secure data, including information such as passwords andprivate data that would be accessed through this sub-system. Thesettings manager 320 may be responsible for managing settings used bythe tracking manager 308. Such settings may be user controlled (e.g.,user settings) or defined by the tracking manager 308 for internal use(e.g., application settings) by a mobile device 102 and/or the trackingsystem 100. The location manager 322 may be responsible for all locationtracking done by the tracking manager 308. For example, the locationmanager 322 may manage access to the location services of the mobiledevice 102 and works in conjunction with other managers to persist data.The network manager 324 may be responsible for all Internetcommunications from the tracking manager 308. For example, the networkmanager 324 may mediate all Internet API calls for the tracking manager308. The notification manager 326 may be responsible for managing localand push notifications required by the tracking manager 308. The soundmanager 328 may be responsible for playback of audio cues by thetracking manager 308. The friends manager 330 may be responsible formanaging access to contacts and the user's social graph. The photomanager 332 may be responsible for capturing and managing photos used bythe tracking manager 308. The authentication manager 334 may beresponsible for handling the authentication (e.g., sign in or login) ofusers. The authentication manager 334 may also include registration(e.g., sign up) functionality. The authentication manager 334 furthercoordinates with other managers to achieve registration functionality.The device manager 336 may be responsible for managing the devicesdiscovered by the tracking manager 308. The device manager 336 mayfurther store and/or maintain the logic for algorithms related to devicediscovery and update.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example community mobile device for use in atracking system environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, thecommunity mobile device 104 may include, but is not limited to, a userinterface manager 402, a tracking device manager 404, a database manager406, and a tracking manager 408, each of which may be in communicationwith one another using any suitable communication technologies. The userinterface manager 402, database manager 406, and tracking manager 408illustrated in FIG. 4 may include similar features and functionality asthe user interface manager 302, database manager 306, and trackingmanager 308 described above in connection with FIG. 3. It will berecognized that although managers 402-408 are shown to be separate inFIG. 4, any of the managers 402-408 may be combined into fewer managers,such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as mayserve a particular embodiment.

The community mobile device 104 may include a tracking device manager404. The tracking device manager 404 may facilitate scanning for nearbytracking devices 106. In some configurations, the tracking devicemanager 404 can continuously or periodically scan (e.g., once persecond) for nearby tracking devices 106. The tracking device manager 404may determine whether to provide an updated location of the nearbytracking device 106 to the tracking system 100. In some configurations,the tracking device manager 404 provides a location of a nearby trackingdevice 106 automatically. Alternatively, the tracking device manager 404may determine whether the location of the tracking device 106 has beenrecently updated, and may determine whether to provide an updatedlocation based on the last time a location of the tracking device 106has been updated (e.g., by the community mobile device 104). Forexample, where the community mobile device 104 has provided a recentupdate of the location of a tracking device 106, the tracking devicemanager 404 may decide to wait a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5minutes) before providing an updated location of the same trackingdevice 106.

In one configuration, the tracking device manager 404 may receive andprocess a location request or other information relayed to the communitymobile device 104 by the tracking system 100. For example, the trackingdevice manager 404 may receive an indication of a tracking device 106that has been indicated as lost, and provide a location of the trackingdevice 106 if it comes within proximity of the community mobile device104. In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 isconstantly scanning nearby areas to determine if there is a trackingdevice 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device 104.Therefore, where a tracking device 106 that matches information providedby the tracking system 100 (e.g., from the location request) comeswithin proximity of the community mobile device 104, the tracking devicemanager 404 may generate and transmit a response to the location requestto the tracking system 100, which may be provided to the user 103associated with the tracking device 106. Further, generating andtransmitting the response to the tracking request may be conditioned onthe status of the tracking device 106 being flagged as lost by themobile device 102 and/or the tracking system 100.

The tracking device manager 404 may also be used to relay instructionsto the tracking device 106, e.g., instructions to disable a feature ofthe tracking device 106. In particular, the tracking system 100 maytransmit instructions to the community mobile device 104 in response toreceiving the response to the location request to the tracking system100 from the community mobile device 104. The tracking device manager404 in turn forwards the instructions to the tracking device 106, and inresponse to the instructions, the tracking device 106 disables aparticular feature. The feature(s) to disable may be included in theinstructions, or the tracking device 106 may store information regardingwhich feature(s) to disable in response to a generic disableinstruction.

The tracking device manager 404 may additionally provide otherinformation to the tracking system 100 in response to receiving thetracking request. For example, in addition to providing a location ofthe community mobile device 104, the tracking device manager may providea signal strength associated with the location to indicate a level ofproximity to the location of the community mobile device 104 provided tothe user 103. For example, if a signal strength is high, the locationprovided to the user 103 is likely to be more accurate than a locationaccompanied by a low signal strength. This may provide additionalinformation that the user 103 may find useful in determining the preciselocation of tracking device 106.

As described above, the tracking device manager 404 may determinewhether to send a location within the proximity of the tracking device106 to the tracking system 100. The determination of whether to send alocation to the tracking system 100 may be based on a variety offactors. For example, a tracking device manager 404 may determine tosend a location of the tracking device 106 to a tracking system 100based on whether the detected tracking device 106 has been indicated aslost or if a tracking request has been provided to the community mobiledevice 104 for the particular tracking device 106. In someconfigurations, the community mobile device 104 may send an update of alocation of a tracking device 106 even if the tracking device 106 is notassociated with a current tracking request or if the tracking device 106is not indicated as lost. For example, where the location of a trackingdevice 106 has not been updated for a predetermined period of time, thecommunity mobile device 104 may provide an update of a tracking devicelocation to the tracking system 100, regardless of whether a trackingrequest has been received.

In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 may includeadditional features. For example, the community mobile device 104 mayallow a tracking system 100 to snap and download a photo using photofunctionality of the community mobile device 104. In someconfigurations, this may be an opt-in feature by which a community user105 permits a tracking system 100 to take a snap-shot and possiblyprovide a visual image of an area within a proximity of the trackingdevice 106.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example tracking device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment. The tracking device 106of FIG. 5 includes an interface 502, a transceiver 504, a controller506, one or more sensors 508, and a GPS unit 510. The transceiver 504 isa hardware circuit capable of both transmitting and receiving signals.It should be noted that in other embodiments, the tracking device 106includes fewer, additional, or different components than thoseillustrated in FIG. 5. For instance, tracking devices might not includethe GPS unit 510 and can still implement the functionalities describedherein.

The interface 502 provides a communicative interface between thetracking device 106 and one or more other devices, such as a mobiledevice 102. For instance, the interface 502 can instruct the transceiver504 to output beacon signals as described above (for example,periodically or in response to a triggering event, such as a detectedmovement of the tracking device 106). The interface 502 can, in responseto the receiving of signals by the transceiver 504 from, for instance,the mobile device 102, manage a pairing protocol to establish acommunicative connection between the tracking device 106 and the mobiledevice 102. As noted above, the pairing protocol can be a BLEconnection, though in other embodiments, the interface 502 can manageother suitable wireless connection protocols (such as WiFi, GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications or GSM, and the like).

The controller 506 is a hardware chip that configures the trackingdevice 106 to perform one or more functions or to operate in one oroperating modes or states. For instance, the controller 506 canconfigure the interval at which the transceiver broadcasts beaconsignals, can authorize or prevent particular devices from pairing withthe tracking device 106 based on information received from the devicesand permissions stored at the tracking device, can increase or decreasethe transmission strength of signals broadcasted by the transceiver, canconfigure the interface to emit a ringtone or flash an LED light, canenable or disable various tracking device sensors, can enable or disablea tracking device GPS unit, can enable or disable communicativefunctionality of the tracking device 106 (such as a GSM transmitter andreceiving), can configure the tracking device into a sleep mode or awakemode, can configure the tracking device into a power saving mode, andthe like. The controller 506 can configure the tracking device toperform functions or to operate in a particular operating mode based oninformation or signals received from a device paired with or attemptingto pair with the tracking device 106, based on an operating state orconnection state of the tracking device 106, based on user-selectedsettings, based on information stored at the tracking device 106, basedon a detected location of the tracking device 106, based on historicalbehavior of the tracking device 106 (such as a previous length of timethe tracking device was configured to operate in a particular mode),based on information received from the sensors 508 or the GPS 510, orbased on any other suitable criteria. The controller 506 may selectivelydisable or enable features of the tracking device 106 according toinstructions received from a mobile device 102 or community mobiledevice 104.

The sensors 508 can include motion sensors (such as gyroscopes oraccelerators), altimeters, orientation sensors, proximity sensors, lightsensors, or any other suitable sensor configured to detect anenvironment of the tracking device 106, a state of the tracking device106, a movement or location of the tracking device 106, and the like.The sensors 508 are configured to provide information detected by thesensors to the controller 506. The GPS unit 510 is configured to detecta location of the tracking device 106 based on received GPS signals, andis configured to provide detected locations to the controller 506.

Disabling Features of Lost Tracking Device

FIG. 6 illustrates an environment for disabling a feature of a trackingdevice 606, according to one embodiment. The environment includes atracking system 600, a mobile device 602 associated with the trackingdevice 606, a community mobile device 604, and two networks 608 and 610.The tracking system 600, mobile device 602 associated with the trackingdevice, community mobile device 604, first network 608, and secondnetwork 610 are similar to the tracking system 100, mobile device 102,community mobile device 104, first network 108, and second network 110described with respect to FIGS. 1 through 4. The tracking system 600 canassociate the mobile device 602 and/or a user of the mobile device 602with the tracking device 606, e.g., using an association manager, asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the tracking device 606 is not adedicated tracking device—instead, it is configured to perform one ormore primary device features 614, and also includes tracking features612. As discussed above, a tracking device can include one or moreprimary functions (here, the primary device features 614) and secondarytracking device functions, which are enabled by the tracking features612. The tracking features 612 may be implemented by some or all of thecomponents of the tracking device 106 described with respect to FIG. 5.The tracking device 606 can include one or more functional componentsconfigured to implement the primary device features 614, which areunrelated to tracking of the tracking device 606.

As an example, the tracking device 606 is a wireless speaker withprimary device features 614 of receiving an input signal (e.g., a Wi-Fior Bluetooth signal), outputting audio based on the received signal, andreceiving and responding to playback commands (play, pause, stop, skip,raise or lower volume, etc.). The wireless speaker can also includetracking features 612 that allow a user to track and/or locate thewireless speaker. Certain components of the wireless speaker may be usedto implement both the tracking features 612 and the primary devicefeatures 614. For example, if the wireless speaker is a Bluetoothspeaker, the Bluetooth communications interface may be used both toconnect to a mobile device for playing music, and to transmit beaconsignals used to locate the wireless speaker.

The tracking features 612 may be implemented using a tracking deviceplatform. For example, a tracking device provider can provide an SDK orcustom chipset that, when incorporated into the tracking device 606,enable the tracking features 612. This allows the device to function asa tracking device, e.g., by communicating with other devices within thetracking device ecosystem and responding to tracking-related commandsfrom devices within the tracking device ecosystem. If the trackingfeatures 612 are integrated into the tracking device 606 using an SDK,the tracking device 606 may not have any special-purpose hardwareincluded for the tracking component 612. In other embodiments, one ormore hardware components, such as a communications interface or motionsensors, are included in the tracking device 606 to enable the trackingfeatures 612, e.g., if these components are not used to implement theprimary device features 614.

As described further below, the tracking features 612 may also include afeature for receiving a disabling instruction and implementing thedisabling instruction in the tracking device 606. For example, thetracking features 612 may be implemented by one or more components fortransmitting a tracking signal (e.g., a beacon signal), receiving aninstruction to disable one of the primary device features 614, andtransmitting the instruction to disable the feature to a component forimplementing the primary device features 614.

If the tracking device 606 is lost, the mobile device 602, trackingsystem 600, and community mobile device 604 can interact with each otherand with the tracking device 606 to set a lost flag in the trackingsystem 600 and locate the tracking device 606 as described with respectto FIGS. 1-4. In addition, the tracking system 600 may transmit aninstruction to the tracking device 606, via the first network 608,community mobile device 604, and second network 610, to disable one ormore features of the tracking device 606.

In one embodiment, the mobile device 602 transmits a request to disablea feature of the tracking device 606 if, for example, the user of themobile device 602 believes that the tracking device 606 has been stolen,or is at risk of being stolen (e.g., if the user left the trackingdevice 606 in a public place). The disabling instruction may be aninstruction to disable all primary device features 614, all trackingfeatures 612, all primary and tracking features 612 and 614, or a singleidentified feature or subset of features. The instruction may depend onthe abilities of the tracking device 606. For example, if the trackingdevice 606 is a wireless speaker or wireless headphones, the instructionmay disable the tracking device 606 from pairing (e.g., via a Bluetoothconnection) with a second device. Even if forming a Bluetooth connectionis disabled, the tracking device 606 may still be able to use theBluetooth communications interface of the tracking device 606 for thetracking features 612, e.g., to transmit beacon signals or receiveinstructions from the community mobile device 614. As another example,if the tracking device 606 is an electronic key for a car, theinstruction to disable the tracking device 606 may disable all primarydevice features 614, e.g., features for locking, unlocking, opening thetrunk, setting off the panic button, or starting the car. This wouldprevent a potential thief from finding or gaining access to the car.

In different embodiments, the instructions can be send from or stored atthe mobile device 602, the tracking system 600, or the tracking device606. In one embodiment, the mobile device 602 is configured to receivean explicit “disable” instruction from the user, or an instruction fromthe user to disable a particular identified feature or set of features.In another embodiment, the mobile device 602 generates a disableinstruction in response to receiving an indication from the user thatthe tracking device 606 is lost; in this case, one or more parameters ofthe disabling instruction (e.g., which feature(s) to disable, conditionsfor transmitting the disabling instruction) may be locally stored on themobile device 602 and configured by the user. In another embodiment, thetracking system 600 stores disabling instructions for a tracking device606. When the user sets up the tracking features 612 of the trackingdevice 606, the user may have the option to provide one or more rulesfor disabling the tracking device 606 that are administered by thetracking system 600, e.g., disable primary device features 614 wheneverthe tracking device 606 is marked as lost, disable primary devicefeatures 614 if the tracking device 606 is lost and determined tolocated in a public place, disable all device features 612 and 614 ifthe tracking device 606 is more than a threshold distance away from themobile device 602, etc. In other embodiments, one or more rules fordisabling the tracking device 606 may be set by the tracking system 600,or may be provided to the tracking system 600 by the manufacturer of thetracking device 606. In yet another embodiment, the tracking device 606stores instructions to disable itself if it is lost, e.g., in responseto receiving a notification from the community mobile device 604 that itis lost, or in response to determining that the tracking device 606 isno longer within a communications range of the mobile device 602. Theseinstructions may be provided by the user (e.g., when configuring thetracking device 606 directly or with the mobile device 602), by thetracking system 600, or by the manufacturer of the tracking device 606.

In some cases, the tracking device 606 only includes tracking features612, i.e., the primary function of the tracking device 606 is fortracking. In such embodiments, the tracking features 612 can be disabledaccording to instructions provided by the mobile device 602 or set atthe tracking system 600 or tracking device 606. In this case, disablingthe tracking device 606 can prevent an unauthorized user from stealingand repurposing the tracking device 606 to track an item belonging tothe unauthorized user.

In some embodiments, the tracking device 606 may have features disabledin stages. As an example, a portion of the primary device features 614are initially disabled when the tracking device 606 is lost. If a presetlength of time passes, additional features (e.g., all primary features614, or a portion of the tracking features 612) are also disabled.Disabling features in stages may preserve battery power of the losttracking device 606 while still allowing the user to locate the trackingdevice 606. If a portion of the features are disabled initially, andthen the tracking device 606 is marked permanently lost by the user viathe mobile device 602, or if a preset length of time has passed, allfeatures of the tracking device 606 may be disabled. In someembodiments, the user can specify different features of the trackingdevice to disable. For example, if the user loses a wireless speaker,the user may first request that a feature for outputting sounds isdisabled to avoid drawing attention to the lost wireless speaker. If,after a period of time, the user does not find the wireless speaker, theuser may request through the mobile device 602 to disable a secondfeature allowing the wireless speaker to pair to other devices. Thisrequest is transmitted in a manner similar to the first request (e.g.,by an instruction that passes from the mobile device 602 to the trackingsystem 600, to the community mobile device 604, and finally to thetracking device 606), and the wireless speaker disables the additionalfeature of pairing to another device.

In some embodiments, after the tracking device 606 has disabled thefeature(s), the tracking device 606 re-enables the feature(s) inresponse to re-enable instructions provided by the mobile device 602.For example, if the mobile device 602 comes within the communicationrange of the tracking device 606, the mobile device 602 automaticallytransmits instructions to the tracking device 606 to re-enable thefeature(s). Alternatively, the mobile device 602 can transmit re-enableinstructions in response to a request from the user of the mobile device602 that the tracking device 606 re-enable the feature(s). As anotherexample, if the mobile device 602 or the user of the mobile device 602determines that the tracking device 606 is safe (e.g., it has beenrecovered by a trusted community member or a friend), the mobile device602 can transmit, automatically or in response to user input, a requestfor the tracking device 606 to re-enable the feature(s). If the mobiledevice 602 is still out of range of the mobile device 602, this requestis transmitted from the mobile device 602 to the tracking system 600,which forwards the request to the community mobile device 604 (oranother community mobile device), which forwards the request to thetracked device 606.

FIG. 7 is an interaction diagram illustrating an exemplary process fordisabling a feature of a tracking device, according to one embodiment.The mobile device 602 receives 710 input that the tracking device 606 islost. The input can be received from a user of the mobile device 602,e.g., if the user believes that tracking device 606 was left in a publicplace. As mentioned above, alternatively, the mobile device 602 mayautomatically determine that a tracking device 606 is lost. The inputmay also include an explicit request to disable the tracking device 606or some feature(s) of the tracking device 606, as discussed above withrespect to FIG. 6.

In response to the input that the tracking device 606 is lost, themobile device 602 transmits a disable instruction 712 to the trackingsystem 600. The tracking system 600 stores 714 the disable instructionreceived from the mobile device 602.

The lost tracking device 606 transmits 716 a tracking signal 718. Forexample, the tracking device 606 may transmit a beacon signal at regularintervals; the tracking signal may be transmitted whether or not thetracking device 606 is lost. The tracking signal 718 is detected by thecommunity mobile device 604, which is presently within thecommunications range of the tracking device 606. The community mobiledevice 604 can extract the identity 720 of the tracking device 606 basedon the received tracking signal 718. The community mobile device 604then transmits the tracking device identifier 722 of the tracking device606 to the tracking system 600. In some embodiments, the communitymobile device 604 may have previously received a notification from thetracking system 600 that the tracking device 606 was marked as lost.

After receiving the tracking device ID 722 from the community mobiledevice 604, the tracking system 600 determines that the tracking deviceID 722 matches the tracking device 606 for which the disable instruction712 is stored. The tracking system 600 then transmits the disableinstruction 726 to the community mobile device 604, which forwards 728the disable instruction 730 to the tracking device 606. In response tothe disable instruction 730, the tracking device 606 disables 732 thefeature(s) specified by the disable instruction 730. The tracking device606 may transmit to the community mobile device 604 a confirmation (notshown in FIG. 6) that the disable instruction 730 was received and/orthat the feature(s) have been disabled. The community mobile device 604may forward the confirmation to the tracking system 600, which may inturn forward the confirmation to the mobile device 602.

As discussed with respect to FIG. 6, the precise instructions fordisabling the tracking device 606 may be stored at the tracking system600. In this case, instead of transmitting a disable instruction 712,the mobile device 602 simply transmits a lost indication to the trackingserver 600. In response, the tracking system 600 sets a lost flag andretrieves disabling instructions for the tracking device 606, which thetracking system 600 forwards to the tracking device 606 via thecommunity mobile device 604.

Alternatively, as discussed with respect to FIG. 6, the instructions fordisabling the tracking device 606 may be stored at the tracking device606. As an example, the disable instructions 712, 726, and 730 may bereplaced by lost indications; when the tracking device 606 receives theindication that it is lost, it automatically disables one or morefeatures according to its stored disabling instructions. FIG. 8 is aninteraction diagram illustrating another exemplary process for disablinga feature of a tracking device based on instructions stored on thetracking device.

The mobile device 602 receives 810 input that the tracking device 606 islost. The input can be received from a user of the mobile device 602, orthe mobile device 602 may automatically determine that the trackingdevice 606 is lost. In response to the input that the tracking device606 is lost, the mobile device 602 transmits a lost indication 812 tothe tracking system 600. The tracking system 600 sets 814 a lost flagbased on the lost indication 812. The tracking system 600 also transmitsa tracking device identifier 816 of the lost tracking device 606 to oneor more community mobile devices, including community mobile device 604.The community mobile device 604 stores 818 the received tracking deviceID so that the community mobile device 604 can scan for nearby trackingdevices and identify whether any nearby tracking devices have beenmarked as lost.

The lost tracking device 606 transmits 820 a tracking signal 822. Forexample, the tracking device 606 may transmit a beacon signal at regularintervals; the tracking signal may be transmitted whether or not thetracking device 606 is lost. The tracking signal 822 is detected by thecommunity mobile device 604, which is presently within thecommunications range of the tracking device 606. The community mobiledevice 604 can extract the identity of the tracking device 606 based onthe received tracking signal 822, and compare 824 the ID of the trackingdevice 606 included in the tracking signal to the stored tracking deviceID. If the community mobile device 604 determines that the ID of thetracking device 606 matches the ID of the tracking device flagged aslost at the tracking system 600, the community mobile device 604transmits a lost indication 826 to the tracking device 606. This lostindication 826 alerts the tracking device 606 that it has been marked aslost.

In response to the lost indication 826, the tracking device 606 disables828 one or more features based on instructions stored at the trackingdevice 606. The tracking device 606 may transmit to the community mobiledevice 604 a confirmation (not shown in FIG. 6) that the feature(s) havebeen disabled. The community mobile device 604 may forward theconfirmation to the tracking system 600, which may in turn forward theconfirmation to the mobile device 602.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a process for disabling a feature ofa tracking device, according to one embodiment. In other embodiments,the process 900 may include additional steps not shown in FIG. 9, andsome of the steps in the process 900 may be omitted or performed in adifferent order.

The tracking system 600 associates 910 a first mobile device, e.g., themobile device 602, with a tracking device, e.g., the tracking device606. Associating a mobile device with a tracking device at a trackingsystem is described in detail with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The tracking system 600 receives 912 an instruction, e.g., the disableinstruction 712, from the first mobile device to disable a feature ofthe tracking device. The tracking system 600 also receives 914 anotification from a second mobile device, e.g., the community mobiledevice 604, that the tracking device is within range of the secondmobile device. The second mobile device may have received a beaconsignal from the tracking device identifying the tracking device.

Having received both the instruction to disable the feature and thenotification that the second mobile device is within range of thetracking device, the tracking system 600 transmits 916 the instructionto the second mobile device for the second mobile device to forward tothe tracking device. The tracking device 606 then receives theinstruction to disable the feature from the second mobile device, and inresponse to the instruction, disables the feature.

Although steps 910-916 of FIG. 9 are described as being performed on thetracking system 600, some or all of the steps of these steps mayalternatively be performed on the mobile device 602.

Additional Considerations

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure.

Any of the devices or systems described herein can be implemented by oneor more computing devices. A computing device can include a processor, amemory, a storage device, an I/O interface, and a communicationinterface, which may be communicatively coupled by way of communicationinfrastructure. Additional or alternative components may be used inother embodiments. In particular embodiments, a processor includeshardware for executing computer program instructions by retrieving theinstructions from an internal register, an internal cache, or othermemory or storage device, and decoding and executing them. The memorycan be used for storing data or instructions for execution by theprocessor. The memory can be any suitable storage mechanism, such asRAM, ROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and the like. The storagedevice can store data or computer instructions, and can include a harddisk drive, flash memory, an optical disc, or any other suitable storagedevice. The I/O interface allows a user to interact with the computingdevice, and can include a mouse, keypad, keyboard, touch screeninterface, and the like. The communication interface can includehardware, software, or a combination of both, and can provide one ormore interfaces for communication with other devices or entities.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storagemedium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification mayinclude a single processor or may be architectures employing multipleprocessor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that isproduced by a computing process described herein. Such a product maycomprise information resulting from a computing process, where theinformation is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer programproduct or other data combination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for disabling a feature of a trackingdevice, comprising: determining, by a tracking server, that the trackingdevice is lost, the tracking server configured to determine that thetracking device is lost based at least in part in response todetermining that a mobile device associated with the tracking device hasnot communicatively coupled to the tracking device for more than athreshold amount of time, the tracking device comprising a wireless keywith one or more key functions and one or more wireless communicationfunctions; in response to determining that the tracking device is lost,disabling, by the tracking server, one or more of the key functions ofthe tracking device; in response to a passage of a second thresholdinterval of time after determining that the tracking device is lostwithout communicatively coupling to the mobile device, disabling, by thetracking server, one or more of the wireless communication functionstracking device; and in response to subsequently communicativelycoupling to the mobile device, automatically enabling, by the trackingserver, all disabled key functions and communication functions of thetracking device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking serveris further configured to determine that the tracking device is lostbased on a communication received from a second mobile device incommunicative range of the tracking device, the second mobile devicedifferent from the first mobile device.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the communication from the second mobile device includes a flagindicating that the tracking device has been marked as lost by a userassociated with the tracking device.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinmarking the tracking device as lost comprises indicating, by the user tothe tracking server that the tracking device is lost, the trackingdevice configured to receive information from the second mobile deviceindicating that the tracking device is lost.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein disabling one or more of the key functions of the trackingdevice comprises provided, by the tracking server, an instruction todisable the one or more key functions of the tracking device to thesecond mobile device, the second mobile device configured to provide theinstruction to the tracking device.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe tracking device comprises a software development kit (SDK)implemented within the wireless key.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe threshold amount of time is selected by a user associated with thetracking device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless keycomprises an electronic key for a car.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe one or more key functions comprise one or more of opening a trunk ofthe car, starting the car, locking the car, or unlocking the car. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more key functions compriselocking or unlocking a lock associated with the wireless key.
 11. Atracking server, comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium storing executable instructions that, when executed, cause thetracking server to perform steps comprising: determining, by thetracking server, that the tracking device is lost, the tracking serverconfigured to determine that the tracking device is lost based at leastin part in response to determining that a mobile device associated withthe tracking device has not communicatively coupled to the trackingdevice for more than a threshold amount of time, the tracking devicecomprising a wireless key with one or more key functions and one or morewireless communication functions; in response to determining that thetracking device is lost, disabling, by the tracking server, one or moreof the key functions of the tracking device; in response to a passage ofa second threshold interval of time after determining that the trackingdevice is lost without communicatively coupling to the mobile device,disabling, by the tracking server, one or more of the wirelesscommunication functions tracking device; and in response to subsequentlycommunicatively coupling to the mobile device, automatically enabling,by the tracking server, all disabled key functions and communicationfunctions of the tracking device; and a processor configured to executethe instructions.
 12. The tracking server of claim 11, wherein thetracking server is further configured to determine that the trackingdevice is lost based on a communication received from a second mobiledevice in communicative range of the tracking device, the second mobiledevice different from the first mobile device.
 13. The tracking serverof claim 12, wherein the communication from the second mobile deviceincludes a flag indicating that the tracking device has been marked aslost by a user associated with the tracking device.
 14. The trackingserver of claim 13, wherein marking the tracking device as lostcomprises indicating, by the user to the tracking server that thetracking device is lost, the tracking device configured to receiveinformation from the second mobile device indicating that the trackingdevice is lost.
 15. The tracking server of claim 12, wherein disablingone or more of the key functions of the tracking device comprisesprovided, by the tracking server, an instruction to disable the one ormore key functions of the tracking device to the second mobile device,the second mobile device configured to provide the instruction to thetracking device.
 16. The tracking server of claim 11, wherein thetracking device comprises a software development kit (SDK) implementedwithin the wireless key.
 17. The tracking server of claim 11, whereinthe threshold amount of time is selected by a user associated with thetracking device.
 18. The tracking server of claim 11, wherein thewireless key comprises an electronic key for a car.
 19. The trackingserver of claim 18, wherein the one or more key functions comprise oneor more of opening a trunk of the car, starting the car, locking thecar, or unlocking the car.
 20. The tracking server of claim 11, whereinthe one or more key functions comprise locking or unlocking a lockassociated with the wireless key.
 21. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium storing instructions for disabling a feature of atracking device, the instructions, when executed by a processor of atracking server, configured to cause the processor to perform stepscomprising: determining, by the tracking server, that the trackingdevice is lost, the tracking server configured to determine that thetracking device is lost based at least in part in response todetermining that a mobile device associated with the tracking device hasnot communicatively coupled to the tracking device for more than athreshold amount of time, the tracking device comprising a wireless keywith one or more key functions and one or more wireless communicationfunctions; in response to determining that the tracking device is lost,disabling, by the tracking server, one or more of the key functions ofthe tracking device; in response to a passage of a second thresholdinterval of time after determining that the tracking device is lostwithout communicatively coupling to the mobile device, disabling, by thetracking server, one or more of the wireless communication functionstracking device; and in response to subsequently communicativelycoupling to the mobile device, automatically enabling, by the trackingserver, all disabled key functions and communication functions of thetracking device.